The invention relates to a control device as defined in the opening part of claim 1, for controlling at least a first receiving device, to a remote control as defined in the opening part of claim 7, and to a second receiving device as defined in the opening part of claim 8.
Such a control device, such a remote control and such a second receiving device are known from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,097. The known control device has been included both in a first remote control, by means of which a television set can be controlled, and in a second remote control, by means of which a video recorder can be controlled. The television set now forms a first receiving device and the video recorder forms a second receiving device for receiving television signals.
The television set and the video recorder have memory means which each store program position information and associated television channel information. Television channel information includes the receiving frequency or the receiving channel of a television station, such as for example CNN. The television set and the video recorder each have a tuner to which television channel information can be applied and which can supply the television signal identified by the television channel information.
The known remote controls each have a keypad by means of which a user can enter control information, for example program position information. Encoding stages encode entered program position information for the video recorder in accordance with a first encoding method or for the television set in accordance with a second encoding method and supply corresponding control signals to transmitting means of the remote controls. The transmitting means transmit these control signals and set the tuner of the video recorder or the tuner of the television set to a program position identified by the program position information, so as to supply the television signal which is identified by the television channel information which is stored in the memory means in correlation with the received program position information.
The video recorder has comparison means to which the television signal from the tuner of the video recorder and, via a so-called SCART connector, the television signal from the tuner of the television set are applied. The comparison means compare the phases of the sync signals of the applied television signals and supply end of search information when the sync signals are in phase and, consequently, the television signals correspond.
To facilitate the use of the video recorder and the television set it is advantageous, when similar information is stored in the memory means for each of the two receiving apparatuses and both the television set and the video recorder receive the same television station, if the user has set the same program position. To copy the information stored in the memory means of the television set the user can set the television set, by means of the remote control of the television set, to the first program position, upon which the television signal of the television station identified by the television channel information stored in the memory means of the television set, in correlation with the first program position information, is supplied to the video recorder via the SCART connector.
Subsequently, the user can apply control information to the video recorder by means of the remote control of the video recorder in order to activate a search mode of the video recorder. When the video recorder is in the search mode the comparison means compare the television signals supplied to them and, by the application of search information to the tuner, control the tuner of the video recorder so as to supply another television signal until the comparison means detect correspondence and end-of-search information is supplied.
Upon the occurrence of end-of-search information the last television channel information supplied to the tuner is stored in the memory means of the video recorder together with the current program position of the video recorder. To copy all the television channel information stored in correlation with the program position information in the memory means of the television set the process described above must be repeated for each program position of the television set.
It has been found that the known control device, the known remote control and the known receiving device have the drawback that, in order to copy all the information stored in the memory means of the first receiving device, the user should actuate a multitude of keys of the two remote controls in the correct sequence. For each program position stored in the first receiving device a user should the actuate at least two keys, in which case for a currently normal number of approximately 30 program positions at least 60 keys on two remote controls should be activated in the correct sequence.
It is an object of the invention to provide a control device, a remote control and an receiving device as defined in the opening paragraph, in which a single activation by the user enables all the information stored in the memory means of the first receiving device to be stored automatically in the memory means of the second receiving device without a separate data link between the receiving devices being required. This object is achieved by the provision of sequence control means as defined in the characterizing part of claim 1 in a control device as defined in the opening part of claim 1 and in a remote control as defined in the opening part of claim 7, and by the provision of sequence control means as defined in the characterizing part of claim 2 in a receiving device as defined in the opening part of claim 8.
This has the advantage that the control device included in, for example, a remote control, controls the first receiving device and, if applicable, also the second receiving device upon a single actuation of a key of the remote control, in such manner that all the program position information and television channel information stored in the memory means of the first receiving device is stored fully automatically in the memory means of the second receiving device without any further intervention by the user.
On the one hand, the remote control can activate a search mode of the second receiving device by the one-time supply of a control signal to the second receiving device, in which mode the comparison means of the second receiving device, each time that the first receiving device receives a further television signal, automatically performs the comparison until this television signal is found and the corresponding television channel information is stored. On the other hand, the remote control can reactivate the comparison of the comparison means for each program position by the application of a control signal to the second receiving device upon expiry of each search time interval.
In accordance with the measures defines in claim 2 a part of the control device may be included in the second receiving device, which has the advantage that only the first receiving device has to be controlled via the transmitting means. This results in a particularly reliable control of the second receiving device.
The measures defined in claim 3 have the advantage that during copying of the information from the memory means of the first receiving device it is not necessary to await the search time interval for each program position but the next program position of the first receiving device can be set and the comparison by the comparison means can be started already after the occurrence of the end-of-search information.
The measures defined in claim 4 have the advantage that the first and the second receiving device may come from different manufacturers who usually employ different decoding methods for the decoding of received control signals.
The measures defined in claim 5 have the advantage that the control device automatically transmits program position information to the first receiving device as control signals encoded in accordance with different encoding methods and, consequently, the user need not carry out any adjustments relating to the manufacturer of the first receiving device.
A transmission of control signals by means of an infrared signal in accordance with claim 6 has proved to be particularly advantageous.